1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a telephone device and a hinge unit in a telephone device, the telephone comprising a camera and a display that is configured to be used in an exchange of multimedia content, including image sequences, between device users.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
Communication devices have during the last decades evolved from being more or less primitive telephones, capable of conveying only narrow band analog signals such as voice conversations, into the multimedia mobile devices of today capable of conveying large amounts of data representing any kind of media. For example, a telephone in a GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS or CDMA2000 type of system is capable of recording, conveying and displaying both still images and moving images, i.e. video streams, in addition to audio data such as speech or music.
A camera equipped communication device can be used in a number of different applications. For example, in addition to a function where an image or a sequence of images are recorded and transmitted to another device by way of, e.g., MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) or as attachments to E-mail messages, image sequences can be used in more interactive two-way communication functions, such as a video conference. Such a function involves a need to display image to a viewer both when imaging in a first direction away from viewer as well as displaying image towards the viewer when imaging himself when participating in the video conference.
The control circuitry and control software of such a communication device needs to know whether the imaging is for the purpose of, e.g., a video conference between the user of the device where the display should be in essentially the same direction as the field of view of a camera performing the imaging, or for the purpose of, e.g., the user imaging a scene where the display should be directed towards the user while the field of view of a camera is essentially in the opposite direction.
This dual functionality is usually achieved by way of providing a communication device with two cameras, a first and a second camera having their respective field of view directed essentially in opposing directions. An example of such a device is the FOMA P2102V telephone, which has a main telephone body and a part, configured to be rotated, comprising a display. The telephone is equipped with two built-in cameras. A first camera is located on the rotatable part and has a field of view such that a person is able to look at the display while at the same time being imaged by the first camera. A second camera is located in the main body of the telephone and is intended for use when performing conventional imaging, i.e. using the device as a conventional digital camera. Needless to say, a drawback with such a device is that it is expensive and also unnecessarily complex. Two cameras arranged in the communication device require extra wiring and additional physical space.
Another example of a camera telephone that is capable of imaging in different directions is the Samsung SGH-P400 camera telephone. The camera is arranged in a hinge part of the telephone and the camera can be rotated in order to enable imaging in different directions. However, this is a complex solution, taking up a relatively great deal of space and it is thereby expensive.